Behmor coffee roaster - GREAT service

zfrankleDecember 5, 2012

I do whine about bad customer service, so I should also offer praise where it's merited. We love coffee, and drink lots of it - espresso, vacuum pot, and pour-over. I've been roasting my own for the last 10 years, going from popcorn poppers to small home machines and finally to the Behmor, which has a 1-pound capacity (we drink about 2 pounds per week). I've been using the Behmor 1600 for almost 2 years - it's a great machine for indoors, because it has a catalytic converter that eliminates most of the smoke roasting produces. Living in an apartment, that's a crucial feature. After many, many pounds, the roaster stopped working, apparently resetting itself in the middle of a roast, with much drama and smoke. After restarting it in cool-down mode the catalytic converter kicked in but I couldn't get it to complete another roast cycle.
I wrote Behmor about it, and they called me that same day.The tech diagnosed the problem and offered to replace the defective part for free, despite the fact that its warranty had run out. I didn't have to beg, they just offered it unprompted. That's service. I know it's a niche product as opposed to a universal appliance, but it's so nice to be surprised by good service. I got mine at Sweet Maria's, which is also where I get my green beans.

That's great news. I stopped roasting about ten years ago when my wife was expecting our first child. The smell of smoke throughout the house and all day morning sickness were a bad mix. I never got into it, mostly because of the improved quality and freshness of coffee that is now available, but nothing is as good as the stuff I made myself. I've been curious about the efficiency of the Behmore catalytic converter. I now have a decent kitchen exhaust fan so that will definitely help, but I'm curious how well you find the smoke is eliminated. In the old days the whole house would smell for at least a day.

We have had a Behmor roaster for around 3 years now. It's great. We use ours under our (powerful) exhaust fan and there is no smell problem. We usually roast in the morning, and when we come home from work in the evening there is no smell whatsoever.

re smoke, the Behmor smoke-suppression is impressive but you still want to use it under ventilation (as sas95 does) or in a garage or outside shed (as I do). The darker you like the roast the more smoke you will have to contend with.

I use it under a powerful recirculating vent hood (the only possible choice in my apartment) and haven't had problems with smoke, but my building's vent system is pretty powerful. Also, I seldom go to French roast, usually stop at full city+. There's nothing like roasting your favorite coffees to exactly the degree you like, and the fact that it saves money is just a bonus. My replacement part was held up by the LA port strike, but now that it's over it should be coming soon.